Over My Head (Part II)
by West
Summary: The second part of it...


~*~*~*~*~p  
  
I groaned as the phone rang again. Everyone who was over my house was basically in the pool or throwing someone in the pool, so that left me to answer the phone. And I had been getting these annoying telemarketers calling me all day.  
I paused as I reached for the phone. Then I had a sudden idea.  
  
"OWL!" I shouted as she scampered over. "Pick up the phone, and if it's a telemarketer, say something to make them go away." I pleaded. She shrugged and picked up the phone as everyone quieted down to hear what she was going to say.  
  
"Hi, this is Sarah calling for..." The telemarketer began, but Owl cut her off.  
  
"Hold on." She said before pausing and screaming, "Scott, get off your sister! What you're doing is ILLEGAL! It's called INCEST, kid!!! Hello?" she said into the phone. *Click* Just as she was putting the phone down, it rang again, "Hello?"  
  
"Hello, this is Tyler calling for..."  
  
"Daaaad! Call the police! I think it's the stalker again!" Owl yelled. *Click* She smiled with satisfaction before handing the phone back to me and jumping into the pool. Within five minutes the phone rang again. I groaned loudly before picking it up.  
  
"Hello, this is Bob and I'm calling to verify your subscription to the "Hermaphrodites Weekly" magazine…" I smirked, hearing laughter in the background.  
  
"Very funny, Shaker. Now stopping call us and tell Skittery, Race, Ten Pin, and Jake that they're morons. Or atleast tell Race to get a voice-changer on his phone or something." I said and hung up. Guys, they can be so dense sometimes.p  
  
~*~*~*~*~p  
  
That Monday we were back in school and back in our crappy uniforms. I was sitting in Literature, bored out of my mind as Ms. Carlisi droned on and the class continued to ignore her and talk amongst themselves. Suddenly, I caught sight of a rather odd circumstance. Shaker and Jake were fighting. And not just over some little thing, full out cursing and insults. I leaned in further, trying to hear what they were saying. Not being able to figure it out, I thought about it and decided it had something to do with the little Clink/Truth or Dare deal at Six Flags. As the bell rang and everyone began to head outside, I walked to my locker only to find Jake and Shaker standing by it, still fighting. I stood there, unsure whether I should butt in and tell them to move or wait until one of them stormed off. Luckily, I was saved by Clink who happened to be walking by.  
  
"Will you guys just shut up and stop fighting already?! My relationships with either of you are over now, so what's the big deal?! Clink shouted. Jake hung his head while Shaker glared at Clink.  
  
"Well, maybe if you hadn't made that little comment at Six Flags, I would care so much!" Shaker yelled. Clink rolled her eyes.  
  
"Oh, so that's what this is about? You both disgust me. Don't expect me to except either of your invitations to the Dinner Dance or to be talking to either of you until you learn to get along." She said as she grabbed her lunch from her locker and walked away quickly.  
  
"Wow, another 'I'll talk to you when you learn to get along' deal. Interesting." Jazz spoke up.   
  
"Wonder how long it'll last. The fight, that is. I'm betting until Dinner Dance, and they'll make up there." I put in.  
  
"Twenty dollars says they make up at Graduation." Race said, walking up just as I made my prediction.  
  
"You're on!" I said as we shook on it. I had the better odds. p  
  
~*~*~*~*~p  
  
I sat down at the Newsies groups' lunch table just in time to find another drama unfolding. This was turning out to be a very soap operatic day.  
  
"I swear, I was going to ask you to the Dinner Dance. I was just slow to getting to it!" Skittery said, trying to convince Owl.  
  
"Slow as hell, and making sure to flirt with every girl possible before-hand." Owl said vehemently.   
  
"Hey, can't you guys just chill and make up?" I asked.  
  
"STAY. OUT. OF. THIS!!!" They said in unison. I cringed at that and made a mental note to stay out of fights more often. I shrugged as I turned to Ace who was sitting next to me.  
  
"Heath Ledger was on Letterman last night." I commented. She smiled happily.  
  
"I know, I stayed up and watched it. And taped it. And I'll treasure it forever." I laughed as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.  
  
"So, any new developments in the relationship department?" I asked her. She nodded with a slow smile on her face.  
  
"Racetrack asked me to the movies tonight." My face fell momentarily, but I forced a smile for Ace's sake.  
  
"That's awesome, that really rocks." I said trying to convince myself I'd live through this one. I think Ace noticed my disappointment.  
  
"Look, I'm really sorry. I know you were really into Race, but y'know…"  
  
"You're into him too, I know. I'll live." I said with another forced smile. She nodded and turned back to her food. I sighed and mumbled something about having to go talk to someone as I got up from the table. I approached the table next to us, which seated the remainder of the Newsie group since not all of us girls and guys fit at one table. I sat down next to Fiddler.  
  
"What do you do when the guy you love and worship asks another girl out and will inevitably ask her to the Dinner Dance, leaving you with no one?" I asked. Fiddler sighed.  
  
"You just heard about Race and Ace getting together?" I nodded. "Honestly, I have no idea. I hate to say this, but you're going to have to get over him." I knew that was coming.  
  
"I guess I should have expected this a bit." I said.  
  
"Well, I don't know. But as far as the Dinner Dance goes, I can't really say what you should do. More guys might ask you now that Race isn't in the way anymore. So go with someone new or go with a guy that's just a friend and make it a non-romantic thing." Fiddler advised.   
  
"You've got a point there. Thanks." I said as I pushed all thoughts of Race to the back of my mind.  
  
"So, I guess Pie Eater asked you to the Dinner Dance?" I asked. Fiddler grinned which meant a yes. But that was a given since they'd been going out for a month now. I stared blankly into my Caesar Salad.  
  
"Life sucks." I mumbled. Fiddler looked at me with raised brows, but smiled quickly as Spot sat down next to me.  
  
"Hey West! So, you got a date for the Dinner Dance?" I looked at him critically.  
  
"What happened with you and Key?" I asked. Spot scowled.  
  
"She dumped me for Snitch." I bit back a laugh at that. I don't think I'd ever heard of anyone dumping Spot Conlon for someone else. I sighed, as much as I hated to admit it Spot had always been nice to me and it wasn't like I was in a position to compromise anyway.  
  
"No, I don't have a date." I said. Spot smiled.  
  
"Well, then would you mind if you were stuck going with me?" he asked I smiled and agreed to go with him. I could just see Owl smirking at me while thinking, "Whatever happened to him being an 'egotistical bastard?'" "Oh, and I'm going to the movies with Race, Ace, Copper, and Dave tonight, you in?" Spot asked.  
  
"Sure, I'll be there."  
  
"Aight, see you then." He said as he got up and walked out of the cafeteria.  
  
"What just happened?" Copper asked as she sat down in the seat Spot had just vacated.  
  
"I have no idea." I supplied.  
  
"Spot just asked West to the Dinner Dance and then invited her to the movies tonight." Fiddler spoke up. I glared at her, but Copper was busy raving about that.  
  
"That's so awesome. You can come to my house and my parents will drive us to the movies…" Copper kept on talking and I just nodded my head, not really following. I was still kind of stuck on the Spot-asking-me-out deal.p  
  
~*~*~*~*~p  
  
I sat down trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. It would figure that just about every person in our group and then some would be at this movie. Just figures. Spot made a move to put his arm around me, but I pretended to drop something on the floor. Race saw that, smirked, and proceeded to kiss Ace. Gag me. Apparently Spot felt the same way, judging by the disgusted look on his face.  
By the time we were only a half-hour into the movie, it seemed like Spot and Race had made this into a competition to see which could go farther with the girl they were with. And Ace and I had had enough.   
  
"You know what? To quote Clink, 'you both disgust me.'" I said as I got up and walked out of the theatre, Ace trailing behind me. "Damn. We still have to wait for Copper's mom to come and pick us up. And she's not coming for another hour and a half."  
  
"So what? We'll just wait and talk." Ace said cheerfully.  
  
"I'm really sorry. If me and Spot hadn't come to the movies tonight you probably would have had a halfway decent time." I apologized. Ace just smiled.  
  
"Ah, don't worry about it. It's not like me and Race are over just because of this one incident. He just knows to back off a little. And Spot should realize the same for you." I nodded. So, the evening wasn't totally wasted. Spot and me were still kind of together, and even though I'd been denying it forever, he was usually a pretty considerate and nice guy. Just as that last thought crossed my mind, I felt someone's arms wrap around my waist. I jumped, surprised and startled. I turned around and saw Spot standing there. Race was outside too, but he had pulled Ace aside and was talking to her privately.  
  
"Look, I'm real sorry about what happened in there… me and Race just got kinda… uh…" Spot trailed off.  
  
"Competitive?" I supplied. Spot smirked in his trademark way.  
  
"Yeah, something like that. So, forgive me?" he asked pleading silently with his eyes. I hate guys who can do that.  
  
"Eh, I guess. For now anyway." I said winking. Spot leaned forward and kissed me lightly on the lips. I leaned back and looked him in the eyes. It was at that point that I realized that this was the first time something mushy had happened where someone (namely me) hadn't said "gag me," "shoot me," or something to that extent. Well, first mushy thing since I entered this parallel universe. Spot and I were both still in our own Spot/West world when a voice brought us back to earth.  
  
"Gag me." That was Copper. Figures.  
  
"You just had to ruin the moment didn't you?" I asked.  
  
"Hey, it's what I do best." Copper smirked. I glared menacingly at her, but Dave interrupted our near-bout.  
  
"Um, Copper called her mom and she's going to pick you girls up early since half of us just walked out on the movie, and my dad's gonna give me, Spot, and Race a ride home." We all nodded acknowledgements and Ace and Race went back to making out, as did Copper and Dave, and me and Spot pretty much just sat down on the ground and proceeded to make fun of every single person who walked by. It was fun.p  
  
~*~*~*~*~p  
  
The next day a school, right after math, Ten Pin filled me in on the fact that there was going to be a party that night at Dave's house, with the majority of our group there. It looks like my week was getting booked by the minute.p  
  
~*~*~*~*~p  
  
"Someone's going to call the cops on this party." Lily observed from where she was sitting in Dutchy's lap. I snickered at that thought as I leaned against Spot who had his arms around my waist.  
  
"Anyone seen Race?" Ace asked as she entered he room.  
  
"Uh oh. Trouble in paradise." Moinks muttered. Ace ignored that comment and headed upstairs. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" Moinks counted down, Just at the moment that she said 1, a loud yell sounded from upstairs, and Ace ran down the stairs and outside looking extremely pissed off. "Oh man, I was right. To quote Owl, 'It sucks being right!'" Moinks said, panicking.  
  
"Right about what?" Spot asked.  
  
"I just figured Race was upstairs in a make-out room, cheating on Ace. And I guess I was right." Moinks last comment was followed by Race clamoring down the stairs, with Shady close behind him.  
  
"You cheated on Ace with Shady?! That's just low." Doll spoke up. Before any of us could make any comments, police sirens went off.  
  
"Shit! Being right really does suck!" Lily yelled over the sudden panic, referring to her previous comment.  
  
"Cheese it! It's da bulls!" Crutchy yelled. Until now I hadn't even realized that Crutchy was in this parallel universe, but I had no time to think about it as I sprinted after Spot who was running out the door and down the street to where I hoped was a bus stop. After all, I still had to get home somehow.p  
  
~*~*~*~*~p  
  
I stared nervously out the window of Lily's house. Today was it, the day of the Dinner Dance, and Lily July, Monday, and me were all sharing a limousine to the dance and were currently waiting for the limo to arrive with our guys.  
  
"So, what happened with the party last night?" I asked, I was curious after all.  
  
"Some of the neighbors called the police on us. Then everyone bailed and left Copper and Dave to deal with the cops. Neither of them got in any legal trouble, 'cause all it was just loud music, but Dave's parents were really pissed off. He's grounded from everything except the Dinner Dance." July stated.  
  
"So sweet little David Jacobs got the cops called on his party. Does anyone else find that mildly amusing?" Monday asked as we all burst into laughter. Just then the limousine pulled up with our dates. Monday was going with Bumlets, Lily with Dutchy, me with Spot, and July with Specs (July and Specs were just going as friends, though).  
When we arrived at the dance, which was being held at a hotel, we were met with the usual scene: bad DJ, tons of kids running around, and the teachers trying to keep control of everyone. We sat down at one of the tables, this one being one of the larger ones, though it still didn't fit our group of 42.  
After the initial greetings had been made, I grabbed Tink's hand and dragged her to the DJ.  
"What're we doing?" she asked curiously.  
"Requesting a Dazed and Confused song." I supplied. She nodded and jumped up onto the DJ platform.  
"Play a Dazed and Confused song!" she demanded. The DJ looked a little taken back so I jumped in.  
"She means, could you please play "Slow Ride" by Foghat? I know it's not dance music, but couldn't you play it during dinner? We really wanna hear something off the D and C soundtrack." The DJ nodded as Tink rejoiced. I dragged her back over to the table just in time to hear Owl and Skittery fighting. Again. It was like some annoying re-occurring theme. This time I was smart and just ignored them. I took this moment of sanity to see who was with whom. Here's how it went: Copper and Dave, Lily and Dutchy, July and Specs, Owl and Skittery (well… kinda), Key and Snitch, Coneflower and Mush, Monday and Bumlets, Luna and Itey, Tink and Race, Gen and Jack, Doll and Crutchy, Gypsy and Kid Blink, Fiddler and Pie Eater, and me and Spot. I chuckled at the sight of Tink and Race together. Basically, Tink had gone with him as a favor to him since no other girl would after the cheating deal and all. Clink, Trapper, Shasta, Moinks, Dyna, Jazz, Wisecracks, Ace, and Dusk were all single, as were Ten Pin, Snoddy, Jake, Shaker, and Swifty. Les, Boots, and Snipeshooter were there too, despite the fact they were in a younger grade.  
A sudden thought crossed my mind. I had the feeling that this was going to be one of those nights where people broke up and hooked up with in the time period of ten minutes.  
As soon as dinner was over (and yes, the DJ did play my D and C request) July made sure she was the first on the dance floor and always the center of attention. That left Specs sitting miserably alone at the table.  
"Hi!" Tink exclaimed as she sat down next to him and stroke up a conversation. I stared aimlessly out the window.  
"You wanna dance?" Spot asked, snapping me back to reality.  
"Nah, not right now anyway. But you go out there." I told Spot, he nodded and disappeared into the crowd of people dancing. It only took him twenty minutes to find a willing girl (Dusk) to freak with him.  
"Now, would you consider that cheating?" A voice asked. I glanced over; it was Racetrack. I saw that Tink was still talking/flirting with Specs, which left Race all by his lonesome. Lucky me.  
"Well, I think the relationship is kinda ending anyway…" I trailed off. Race nodded understandingly.  
"So, looks like your date ditched you for a presumably better-looking male." I observed as Race laughed. He opened his mouth, probably about to make some smart-ass comment, but was interrupted by the usual "scene" occurring.  
"No, I swear, we've made up!" Jack exclaimed.  
Yeah, we're nest friends now. Really." Shaker said with a grin. Clink looked at the two of them suspiciously. Deciding they were serious, she dragged them both onto the dance floor. Another drama resolved as they slow-danced in a small circle of three. I was about to comment on that when I saw Race gaping. I followed his gaze and saw Skitts and Owl slow-dancing with each other, very close, and not arguing for once.  
"Weren't they just-"  
"Fighting? Yeah. But that's Owl and Skittery for you. By the way, you owe me twenty dollars on account of Jake, Shaker, and Clink making up here instead of at graduation." I pointed out. Race grimaced as he forked over the money.  
"You wanna dance?" he asked with that *cough* charming smile. I smiled as he led me to the dance floor. In my typical style, I glanced around. Tink and Specs were dancing together, as were Dusk and Spot, Clink, Shaker, and Jake, then Shasta, Trapper, Gen, and Jack were dancing in a small circle (wonder how that happened…), and all the couples were obviously together. Wisecracks had snagged Davey for this one song and the remaining people were sitting around a table laughing about some joke.  
Race pushed a stray strand of hair away from my face, reminding me that this was one of those times where I should be absorbed in my current situation instead of everyone else's.  
"Look, um, about the cheating deal... well, I was drunk and well… you understand, right?" Race asked hopefully.  
"Don't worry, my first kiss was due to the fact that the guy was drunk, I understand what stuff can happen when you get like that." I supplied (Woo hoo! The infamous men = pigs story! Right, Lily?) Race leaned forward and kissed me gently on the lips. I leaned my head on his shoulder, contently. Life was good.  
The night ended eventually, and I sadly got back into the limousine with Copper, whose house I was sleeping over. Copper had spent most of the night with Davey, and had been self-absorbed with him for the whole dinner dance.  
"So, what happened?" Copper asked.  
"I have no idea," I replied, "That pretty much went over my head."p  
THE END!!!p  
AND FOR ONCE, THERE WILL BE NO SEQUEL!!! *MWHAH*!  



End file.
